On a post a a while back we discovered that a lot of us here that were caring for elderly parents have lost direction in our lives. That we had quit dreaming. And if we were dreaming then we weren't really ready to do the work required to fulfill our dreams. This following quote is from an email that DR sent my a while back. It is from a song by Larry Gatlin:
"So wake up, dreamer, it's time you realize, The best dreams you'll ever dream You dream with open eyes.
So step out on your faith No matter how small it may seem, It's not a simple matter of one dream per customer,
You're allowed all you dare to dream."
I have some questions for all of you. If your dreams came true would you be ready for it? Would you be prepared for what came with those dreams?
I have several dreams, meet Miss Right, win the lottery, write a book, take more comedy classes. Thinking about my dreams today I came to the stark realization that I'm not prepared if any of my dreams came true. Being a little anal, ok a lot anal, I got to thinking maybe I should start preparing for the dreams to come true. In order:
Miss Right is out there. I know she is. I may have already met her and don't know it. She may havealready met me and not know it. At my age the chances of Miss Right being in the same city as I am are really pretty small. So I am expanding my search to all cities on the West Coast. Which means if I did meet Miss Right and she lived in another city, would I be prepared? Would I be in a position to move? Would I be in a position to have someone move in with me? And the answer is a resounding no. So Today I started preparing. I am cleaning out my house from top to botton. Taking everything I haven't used for a while that is still in working condition to Goodwill. Throwing out all the things that aren't in working conidition. Basically making room for someone to move in with me. And by doing that I am also putting myself in a position to move quickly. Dreams have a habit of not coming true until you are ready for them. Now I will be prepared. It just may take a while.
If I won Powerball this weekend, would I be ready for it? I mean first thing I would do is set up a private foundation. That takes a while because you have to get IRS approval. The next thing I would do is make a list of family, friends, relatives, and chairites that I would like to enrich. All of that would take time and would delay the happiness of sharing wealth. Yesterday I made a list of twenty friends and family and the amount that I would give each of them. That is done. I also searched the Internet on how to go about setting up a private foundation. That process is started. I have my attorney friend on speed dial. I have 911 on speed dial in case I faint *when* I win. I'm getting close to being ready for this dream to come true. I just need the numbers that come up for the lottery to be the same ones that I have on my tickets!
Writing a book? I've been usuing a lot of excuses lately about not writing. I don't have the time. I don't really have the ability to write. My writing style isn't exciting enough. Oh gosh what if I did finish the book and it was published, I'd have to do a book signing tour. That means traveling a lot. Am I prepared for that? This morning I found the diskette with my half written book on it. I have scheduled a hour a day to write. Or at least think about writing. It is a start. It just may take a while.
The comedy classes. Sister is going to be here next week. The Improv class that I attended last year offers a class every Wednesday night for five bucks. With sister here I can go to the class next week. Wednesday night is one of the nights I have to stay at Mom's so that has put a clinker in my plans to attend the classes. However, if I like the one that I attend while sis is here I've decided I will keep attending the classes. Mom will be OK for the few hours that I am at class. I also did some exploring. There are open mic nights at several comedy clubs in Portland. I have no dreams of signing up for those but going to few of open mic nights could be interesting. I've also done some exploring. There is a standup class starting in Seattle in September. They had some of the students on a local news station last night talking about how the class impacted their life. I also did some research and there are some classes that you can audit in the LA area. Before signing up, you audit the class, you don't have to get on stage, and you see if it is something you are interested in before spending the big bucks. It is something you could do on a short trip to LA. I'm actually may fulfill this dream!
Tell me what your dreams are. Then tell me if you are ready for them to come true. If you aren't ready for your dreams to come true, what do you have to do to get ready?
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4 comments:
Good for you for working on at least being ready for a dream come true.
Giving it some thought, I find myself dreamless at the moment. Oh, there are things I'd love to have happen, like winning the Lottery. And I suppose I could help that along by buying a ticket now and then. Would I be ready if I won? Not a chance. But I'd sure enjoy the process of figuring it all out. I think.
The great thing about suddenly having a huge pile of money for me would be that I could stop worrying about how long the money will hold out to keep my mother in comfort for as long as she lives. Not to mention that now that I'm learning up close and personal how much that costs, it would also keep ME in comfort in my dotage, should I live so long.
There are other things I'd like to have time for, such as more volunteer work and taking some classes. At the moment, while I could probably do those things, it would just be a little more pressure, so I take that time just to read, relax, and be unproductive. I need to work on finding my dream, so maybe I'll make that a goal.
Hi Pat
I just don't want to be at the airport when my ship comes in.
I think finding what your dreams are is a good goal. Sometimes we think we know what they are and then something happens that makes us think maybe we were dreaming for the wrong thing.
I would love the process of figuring out what I would do with millions. I already have a pretty good idea!
I also worry about enough money to keep going the rest of my life.
Bill
I'm so glad to see you've not only defined your dreams, but are working towards opening the doors for them to come true.
I'm a bit like Pat -- haven't defined my dreams. Oh, I pretty much know what I want to do if I win the lottery. Set up a foundation for elder care and help for caregivers, as well as helping out family members and such. But haven't taken any steps to do so, although I do buy a lottery ticket a couple times a month.
Otherwise... as I think we all kinda said in the earlier post, it's just getting through a day at a time and trying to figure out what to do when "things" change on a daily basis. It is perhaps past time I sit down with my morning pages and really identify "my perfect day" and then prepare to let it happen for me. When my brother took me to the page I sent you, it made me realize that dreams are part of making the present a happier time.
Hi DR
I'm tired of sitting and waiting things to come towards me. I am taking action now.
It is interesting that we would both set up foundations if we won the lottery.
Dreams are what keep you going, at any age!
Bill
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